Turtles Through...

...to the Last Four

Having done a good job in Ipoh last Tuesday, Terengganu completed the turn-around against Perak at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium last night with a 3-1 win. Goals from Reeshafiq Alwi, abdul Manaf Mamat and Abdul Hadi Yahya ensured The Turtles date with Pahang in the last four in May.

However, the match was in danger of being not played at all when circuit problems caused the floodlights to fail a number of times. However match officials decided to give it a go and the match went underway, albeit a few minutes off the scheduled kick-off time.

The home side made their intention clear from the start with Joseph Kalang Tie fired in a free kick from the right which was cleared in the second minute. Then his fellow Sarawakian Reeshafiq Alwi saw his shot from outside the box blocked by the Perak defence.

However, as the match entered its sixth minute, the light went out again much to the dismay of thousands of fans that throng the old stadium. The stadium was lit only by the light from the 'Supermoon' that made its once in 29 years appearance that night.

The likelihood of the match being postponed and played the next day was high. It could be a disaster for the home team. Fortunately, the match officials, much to their credit decided to give it another go when the lights was restored, perhaps thinking of a postponement would bring much anger to the fans.

Terengganu continued where they left prior to the blackout. The Perak defence had to be alert to stop a shot from Hadi and a minute later Ashaari Shamsudin broke through on the lft before squaring the ball to Manaf who could not direct his shot on target.

Perak continued to hold strongly while launching several attacks on their own but the Terengganu defence, led by skipper Marzuki Yusof who missed the first leg through injury was up to the task in quelling the visitors' attacks.

Goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin denied Hadi a goalscoring chance when he was quick enough to dive at the striker's feet after he was put through into the box in the 32nd minute.

Then six minutes before the interval Joseph Kalang delivered an inch perfect cross from the right and Reeshafiq stole between two Perak defenders to direct it past Nasril for the goal that put The Turtles in the driving seat.

They could go through on away goals rule if the score stayed the same till the end of the match. But Terengganu continued to press and with Perak having to attack to ensure their survival in the competition, they could exploit any gaps in the visitors' defence.

The sky opened up just when the match was about to end for the interval. The fans were soaked wet by the downpour but that did not dampen their support and the players responded well by continuing to press Perak, hitting the bar in the process.

Then six minutes after the restart Terengganu went ahead for the first time in the tie when Manaf blasted the ball from outside the penalty box and it went in at Nasril's near post. Terengganu were 4-3 ahead on aggregate.

The goal led to a spirited fightback by Perak who forced a succession of free-kicks around the Terengganu penalty area. Fortunately for the home fans the defence stood firm and goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee was alert enough to palm away a curling effort which was going on target.

However he could do nothing when fifteen minutes from time Perak striker, Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli levelled the aggregate score when his powerful shot from another free-kick hit the back of the net, despite Sharbinee managed to put a hand to it.

Terengganu still had the away goal advantage but they could not afford to just sit back and defend as another goal by Perak would knock them out from the competition. Joseph Kalang proved to be the torn in Perak's flesh all night with his tireless running and passing.

With just over ten minutes to go his pass put Hadi through and the striker shrugged off the challenge from two Perak defenders before stroking the ball past the diving Nasril, The Turtles were ahead again and they only needed to hold on for the remainder of the match.

For his effort throughout the match Joseph Kalang should have a goal to his name but it was not to be. He managed to create a chance for himself but could not keep his shot down.

With just a minute to go a stupid action by a section of the home fans saw the referee, Nagor Amir Noor Mohamad stopped the match. An object that was thrown by a fan had hit the referee assistant and this could see Terengganu being fined heavily by FAM.

More seriously, the match could be stopped which would be detrimental to Terengganu's cause.

Again, the referee decided to go on with the match after a while. There were four minutes of added minutes and during which Manaf and Ashaari tried their luck from afar but could not find the back of the net.

The four minutes went slowly for Terengganu fans but in the end the players prevailed and managed to hold on to the 3-1 scoreline as Perak tried their best to force extra-time with another goal.

Terengganu will play Pahang in an all east coast affair in the last four. The Elephants were held to a scoreless draw by Kuala Lumpur on Friday to advance on a 2-1 aggregate. The other semi-final will feature Selangor and Kelantan who overcame Johor and Felda United respectively with identical 5-2 aggregate victory.

RESULTS:

Pahang 0 Kuala Lumpur 0 (Pahang won 2-1 on aggregate)
Terengganu 3 Perak 1 (Terengganu won 5-4 on aggregate)
Johor 1 Selangor 2 (Selangor won 5-2 on aggregate)
Felda United 0 Kelantan 3 (Kelantan won 5-2 on aggregate)

2011 FA CUP SEMI-FINALS

Pahang vs Terengganu
Selangor vs Kelantan

The semi-finals are scheduled for 13 and 16 of May 2011.

...

Good Job...

...in Ipoh

It was not the best of results but it was not the worst either. Terengganu lost the first leg of their FA Cup quarter-final tie against Perak 3-2 at the Perak Stadium last night. The home side took the lead going into the fifteenth minute of play through Isma Alif Mohamad Salim but Terengganu striker, Abdul Manaf Mamat restored parity five minutes before the interval.

The match was evenly balanced for most of the second half but a three minutes spell eleven minutes from time saw Perak sitting comfortably in front with goals from Mohamad Fazrul Hazli Mohamad Kadri (79th) and Akmal Rizal Mohamad Rakhli (83rd) gave the home fans the feel good feeling for the second leg on Saturday.

However, Terengganu midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi's 90th minute strike reduced the gap to just a single goal, which meant The Turtles only need a single goal victory in Kuala Terengganu to go through to the last four of the competition.

Many Terengganu fans are feeling confident that their team will be able to do the necessary when the second leg starts this Saturday.

In other matches, Super League leaders Kelantan and Felda United battled to a 2-2 draw in Kota Bahru with goals coming from Zamri Chin and Liew Kit Kong for The Settlers while skipper Badri Radzi and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha scored for the home side as Kelantan failed to win for the second successive time.

The two sides will meet again on the same venue on Saturday for the second leg as the KLFA Stadium is still unavailable for football matches.

Another side which had to play their home match away from home was Kuala Lumpur. The City Boys 'entertained' Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium but fell behind when Amirul Ashraf Sayuti scored for the 'visitors' after half an hour.

Kuala Lumpur equalised through Ahmad Azlan Zainal ten minutes after the break but Pahang took a huge advantage for their home tie this Saturday when Azamuddin Akil netted their second in the 64th minute.

In the only tie involving team from the Premier League, Super League champions Selangor easily defeated Johor 3-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium. Hardi Jaafar, Rudie Ramli and Amri Yahyah found the back of the Johor net as the Red Giants looked like strolling to the last four.

However Mohamad Alif Mohamad Yusof pulled one back for the southerners to give them a glimmer of hope for the second leg tie in Johor Bahru.

RESULTS:

FA CUP QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

KUALA LUMPUR 1 vs PAHANG 2
PERAK 3 vs TERENGGANU 2
SELANGOR 3 vs JOHOR 1
KELANTAN 2 vs FELDA UNITED 2


...

Army Defeated...

...at Selayang.

Terengganu booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Malaysian FA Cup competition with a tight 3-2 scoreline against the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium in an afternoon kick-off yesterday.

Terengganu striker Abdul Hadi Yahya found the net for the sixth match in succession while a brace from Ashaari Shamsudin gave Terengganu two goal leads before ATM managed to reduce the score to just a single goal deficit on two occasions through Fatrurazi rozi and Yushaini Hafiz.

The current second placed team in the Premier League gave everything they got and perhaps boosted by the strong support from their ranks could have forced the Super League side into an extra thirty minutes of play.

However The Turtles held on to secure a meeting with Perak, who later that night defeated Sime Darby FC 3-0 at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh. It will be an interesting pairing with both are in good form, The Turtles are just a place below Perak in the Super League in third place and the 'Yob' outfit are still unbeaten this season together with league leaders, Kelantan.

The rest of the fixtures saw an upset in Paroi where holders Negeri Sembilan crashed out 4-2 on penalties to Kuala Lumpur after a goalless match. Another unexpected result was the defeat of the Canaries to Felda United with just a single goal separated the two sides after ninety minutes.

The rest of the favourites made it safely through to the last eight. Kelantan had to work hard at the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang before winning by a solitary goal against Johor FC. Selangor defeated Harimau Muda 'B' 2-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium while at nearby MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya Pahang won 3-1 against PKNS FC.

In a solitary match played the day before Johor booked their place at the expense of Ong Kim Swee's Harimau Muda 'A' team. Perhaps the defeat would not be so bad after all as it will give the boys who will travel to Lahore to face Pakistan on 9 March in the return leg of the 2012 Olympic qualifiers a bit of breathing space after a hectic fixtures since the beginning of the season.

The draw for the quarter-finals:
KUALA LUMPUR vs PAHANG
PERAK vs TERENGGANU
SELANGOR vs JOHOR
KELANTAN vs FELDA UNITED

The first leg is scheduled to be played on 15 March while the return leg on 19 March.

...

Scraping...

...Through

mad redo1 had planned to attend this evening Terengganu FA Cup First Round match against Premier League USM FC at the university's athletic stadium. It was a repeat of the first round match last season in the same competition but a change of format saw the first two rounds being played over a single match.

Unfortunately, the day being a special day for someone, the plan was shelved as he spent the time munching away at the seafood served at the No.4 Stall at the Kuala Perlis Jetty.

Thus he did not know much about the match played at the same time, approximately three hours drive from where he was. From what he gathered it was a stroll for The Turtles in the first half but could not make the most of the chances that came their way.

Penang born, Mohamad Zharif Hasna who was in his second season with Terengganu opened the scoring after twenty minutes before striker Abdul Hadi Yahya scored for the third consecutive match just before the interval.

The second half saw the home side put up a more determined fight and managed to reduce the deficit after an hour of play. Perhaps influenced by last season's result when Terengganu won 4-1 here before winning 3-0 in Kuala Terengganu, The Turtles slowed down the tempo and this invited the home side to come at them.

Sharbinee Allawee was certainly the busier goalkeeper in the second half and made at least a couple of crucial saves to ensure the tie was in his team favour. In the end, the 2-1 scoreline was enough for Terengganu to proceed to the next round.

As for mad redo1 it was a topping to a good evening spent in the northern part of Malaysia.

If she is a keen football fan then it would have been a good evening for her, but she is not. But My Dearest Linda, I love you for what you are. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and may God bless you always.



...

Penalty...

...Heartbreak.

It was a match eagerly awaited by football fans. The transfer wrangling between the two teams during the close season involving three players now playing for the home team was the source of the 'heat' surrounding the match.

For Kelantan fans it was an opportunity by their team to show that life goes on for them without the trio. And life is indeed very well for 'The Kijang' with their current position at the top of the pile in the Malaysian Super League (MSL) while PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) are languishing in the bottom rung of the MSL.

Thus the stage was set for an explosive encounter. However, at stake was a place in the second round of the Malaysian FA Cup and a result must be reached during this match after the format was changed from a two legged affair to just a single match knock-out match for the first two rounds of the competition.

Unfortunately mad redo1 was not around to witness the match first hand and to snap a few shots from it. He was away in Kedah fulfilling a promise made to his other half since the day he got hitched way back in mid-nineties.

Being away meant he missed witnessing Indra Putra Mahyudin's first competitive goal for his new team, cancelling the opener by Kelantan's Rizal Fahmi Rosid, eight minutes after the latter scored in the 53rd minute.

Then of course he missed witnessing national striker, Terengganu born Norshahrul Idlan Talaha missed from the spot that could have prevented the extra thirty minutes from being played to separate the two teams.

In the end the lottery of penalties went in favour of the visitors but for T-Team and their supporters could take heart from their battling performance in holding the current league leaders to a draw.

It was just lady luck that did not smile on them during the shootout.

Hopefully she will when T-Team take on the field again on Saturday against bottom team Perlis. With Indra scoring his first goal of the season hopefully there will be more to come from him and his team-mates to ensure a good season for T-Team after a very poor start to it with just a point to show after four matches.

But the battle for FA Cup is over, at least for this season.



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